Washington County OR Archives Biographies.....Graham, Loyal M. November 20, 1860 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com October 20, 2009, 3:51 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 22-23
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     Demonstrating the strength of his character by earning the funds 
necessary for his higher education, Loyal M. Graham has pressed steadily 
onward to the goal of success and his tireless industry and pronounced ability 
have won for him a position of leadership in legal circles of Forest Grove. 
During his public service he left the deep impress of his individuality upon 
the legislative history of the state and is largely responsible for its fine 
system of public highways. He was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, 
November 20, 1860, and was a child of six when his parents, Samuel and Helen 
(Gould) Graham, settled in Delaware county, Iowa. His mother died at 
Hopkinton, Iowa. His father afterward migrated to Lancaster county, Nebraska, 
and there spent his remaining years. The father passed away in 1892 and the 
mother's demise occurred in 1883.

     Loyal M. Graham spent his boyhood on the home farm and obtained his early 
instruction in one of the country schools of Delaware county. At the age of 
twelve he became a pupil in the high school at Milan, Illinois, which he 
attended for two years, and then returned to Iowa, finishing his course at 
Hopkinton. He worked his way through Lenox College and in 1884 was awarded the 
degree of Master of Arts by that institution. Afterward he was employed in a 
law office at Hastings, Nebraska, pursuing his studies during that time, and 
in 1890 was admitted to the bar. Locating in Stockville, Nebraska, he soon 
demonstrated his ability to cope with the intricacies of the law and was 
intrusted with much important litigation. He also entered the field of finance 
and for several years was president of the Frontier County Bank, successfully 
administering its affairs. Agricultural pursuits also claimed his attention 
and he became the owner of several farms in Nebraska. In 1890 he was elected 
county attorney of Frontier county, filling the office for two terms, and in 
the fall of 1895 was elected a member of the upper house of the general 
assembly of Nebraska. He served for two years, representing the nine counties 
comprising the twenty-ninth senatorial district, and was chairman of the 
committee on universities and schools.

     Mr. Graham practiced in Stockville until 1911, when he came to Forest 
Grove and formed a partnership with W. H. Hollis. They were accorded a large 
clientele and from 1911 until 1915 Mr. Graham was city attorney, gaining an 
enviable reputation as a public prosecutor. In 1919 he was elected to the 
Oregon house of representatives and served for one term. He was recalled to 
that body in 1923, remaining in office until the close of the session of 1927. 
During his legislative service Mr. Graham was a member of the committee on 
roads and highways for three sessions and chairman of the automobile and roads 
committee throughout the session of 1927. An ardent advocate of good roads, he 
imparted to others his zeal and enthusiasm and secured the passage of measures 
favorable thereto. He drafted both the ten million dollar bond measures and 
the first gas law in the United States, Oregon being the first state to set 
the stamp of its approval upon the gas tax. Mr. Graham secured a 
reconsideration of the soldiers educational bill when it was slated for defeat 
and insured its final passage. He is now city attorney of Gaston and attorney 
for the World War Veterans State Aid Commission. His knowledge of legal 
principles is comprehensive and exact and his cases are prepared with 
thoroughness and care, while in their presentation he is logical and 
convincing.

     Mr. Graham was married June 30, 1887, at Bennet, Nebraska, to Miss Carrie 
A. Taylor, who was born in Illinois. Her father, James B. Taylor, was a 
prosperous agriculturist and achieved prominence in the Masonic order, 
receiving the honorary thirty-third degree. Mr. and Mrs. Graham have five 
children. Coila is the widow of J. S. West and holds a responsible position in 
the Portland Trust & Savings Bank. Warren Taylor, a mining engineer of Golden, 
Colorado, is married and has one child, Verne Loyal. Leone M. was graduated 
from Pacific University and is now a teacher in the Forest Grove high school. 
Maude V. was graduated from the University of Oregon, in which her husband, H. 
L. Marshall, was a teacher for two years. During the World war he was 
commissioned a first lieutenant in the United States army, assisting in 
training men for the service, and is now stationed at Fort Benning near 
Atlanta, Georgia. Loyal Edwin, who completes the family, is taking a course in 
law at the State University in Eugene, Oregon.
 
     Mr. Graham is a Scottish Rite Mason and a Noble of Al Kader Temple of the 
Mystic Shrine. His fraternal affiliations also extend to the Eastern Star, the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. His wife 
has held all of the chairs in the Royal Neighbors and is also connected with 
the Daughters of Rebekah, the Eastern Star and the Woman's Club. Mr. Graham 
was chairman of the Masonic and Eastern Star Home committees and assisted in 
planning and building the Home for Masons at Forest Grove. At one time he was 
identified with the land state settlement commission, and served for six years 
on the Forest Grove school board, doing all in his power to further the cause 
of education. He is a director of the Forest Grove Chamber of Commerce, a 
member of the Grange and the Washington County, Oregon State and American Bar 
Associations. In politics he is a strong republican and his religious views 
are indicated by his affiliation with the First Congregational church. Mr. 
Graham has a high conception of duty and honor and his life has been a 
constantly expanding force for good citizenship.

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